lower control arm problem?

[junkpile]

I have a 69 dodge charger. recently put in new lower control arm bushings, ball joints and a set of torsion bars (not new). Adjusted the ride height to be at a factory height, drove the car thru the neighborhood car stayed up just fine. Drove 6 miles back to my home, the front end went down, not all the way to the bottom as if the adjustment screws were turned out but just low enough that the top of the tire is above the wheel opening. the adjustment bolt in all the way in on the drivers side (car will not come up) passenger side has about 3/4" left before it bottoms out. Can the key that raises the car slip on the shaft for the torsion bar? A friend said it could, but if that were the case wouldnt the car drop all the way down as if the adjuster bolts were not even turned in? I can lower the car so the Kframe is only a few inches off the ground but but it will not raise above a certain height. The car in the past has sat and stayed really high in the front but i like from gound to wheel opening to be about 25.75 to 26 inches the car is almost 2 inches lower and before it could go to 28" and hold. Anyone have any ideas? is the torsion bar adjustment key locked into a tab that controls the adjustment to to bar mount or is it press fit, in which case I would need to find new lower arms. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

there is a divot that the torsion bar adjuster should rest in. It can come out but would have had to of been partway out when you went on your ride.

Get it up on jack stands and see what is wrong. I stripped my torsion bar adjuster bolt after bead blasting them. I guess the bead blaster or the tons of torque it took to get them out worked on the threads enough that it stripped.

 

[junkpile]

I did check the adjuster bolts and both were sitting firmly in the key that turns the bar. Does the key lock into the bar mount on a tab or is that key press fit onto the bar mount.

 

[Cranky]

Never adjust your torsion bars with the weight of the car on them. If the threads are clean and lubricated, it doesn't take tons of torque to make them move....actually, they move decently easily. I mean, yeah, they take some torque to turn em but not tons and the tab is welded to the bar socket.

 

[junkpile]

I had the car on a jack and raised to the ride height I wanted, then I moved the adjustment bolts up to the key location until snug and gave one full turn more. At that point the car height was great then it settled down, I repeated the process and now there is no more adjustment for the drivers side but the car still sits low. For the life of me I can t figure out why, I have had the car 18 years, rebuild the front end when i bought it, and it sat up fine, as of 1 year ago I noticed the sag in the front, so I replaced all the worn stuff, now the front will not sit up like before, I cant help feeling like there is some simple thing I am missing.

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

Did you get the bars switched from side to side.

Cranky,

My car was on jackstands, a-arms hanging, trying to remove the adjuster.

 

[junkpile]

I put in new bars (well new used bars), I put them in the correct place left and right as they were marked. I am wondering, if the adjuster key can not "slip" on the tosion bar socket, and all the rest is new, maybe the bars that have been stored for all these years were going bad too. I may just have to get new bars from moparts racing and see if that solves the issue. Unless you guys can think of anything eles that would cause the car to slip down a little over and inch from my set height and hold steady there.

by the way thanks for all the advise I really appreciate it.

 

[tpodwdog]

when installing torsion bars....the lower control arm SHOULD BE AS CLOSE TO THE FLOOR AS POSSIBLE...did you happen to lift it to make the torsion bar go in easier ????....if you did,,,,theres your problem.....if you didnt.... the torsion bars have to " find their groove" and you may have to adjust a few times after they acclimate !

 

[junkpile]

ok. I had the car on jack stands to install the bars with the suspension hanging (no tires on the gound), you are saying the car should be on the ground and with the wheels fully tucked (all the way down) and then install the bars. is that right?
can I put the car on stands again, remove the bars, then use the jack to push up the lower control arm (like its on the ground at its lowest height) then reinstall the bar, put the adjuster back in and adjust ride height from there. would that achieve the same goal?

 

[tpodwdog]

no...thats not what im saying... let me elaborate and get into detail:

put jack stands under the FRAME
let the lower control arms HANG DOWN
install the torsion bars thru the torsion bar support and into the lower control arm...

by rights they should slide right in there but thats not always the case ( heres where you got confused )

if the torsion bar DOES NOT WANT TO SLIDE RIGHT IN THERE.... you must..force the lower control arm DOWN...TOWARDS THE FLOOR to get the torsion bar in the lower control arm. in other words....push DOWN on the lower ball joint and rotate it ( yeah itll be tuff).. until it INDEXES and will slide in

i have seen lazy asses LIFT the lower control arm to the next INDEX ( the flat spot on the torsion bar) in order to get it in ...YOU CANT DO THIS....you just gotta MAN UP and fight it in there sometimes. when you LIFT the control arm to get the torsion bar in the easy way...YOU LOSE HEIGHT...and the bar is weak and cant do its job and hold the front end up....FOLLOWIN' ME ?

TORSION BAR HAS 6 SIDES LIKE A NUT...360( a full circle) divided by 6 = 60 degrees. if you lift the lower control arm...and do it the lazy way...youre losing adjustable height....DIG ? a torsion bar is nothing but a SPRING that twists instead of compresses.

im not at all in any way saying that you did it the lazy way....all im saying is that i have seen this done like that and watch people scratch their heads wondering why they cant get any height adjustment.

also...your torsion bars WILL EVENTUALLY SETTLE... when you adjust them...roll or drive the car...EVERY TIME . dont just bounce it up and down like youre testing shocks...DRIVE IT....then measure....and re-adjust if necessary. ALWAYS ADJUST WITH THE WHEELS OFF THE GROUND ....NO EXCEPTIONS. !

i hope i cleared things up for ya!

 

[junkpile]

o.k. I got ya. I did not take the lazy way out, in fact I did it like you said. with the car on stands and the suspension fully streached, I did not however have to fight to get the bars in, in fact it lined up quite well and slipped right in. I guess now I will need to take out the bars and see if I can pull the lower control arm down a little more towards the floor and re-install the bar to gain height. Funny how It was right for years and now I have a massive brain fart and cant get it right. I will let you guys know how it goes when I get some free time to tear into it again.

Hay would you remove the shock to make it drop easier, or just man up and pull it down.

 

[junkpile]

Hay I just firgured out one other key thing I overlooked. The upper control arm bump stop was still in place not allowing the suspension to completely drop. I will remove the bars, and the bump stops, drop the suspension and reinstall. let you know what happens after that but I believe this will give me the indexing on the adjuster I need to raise and keep the front end up.

 

[tpodwdog]

do what ever you need to do to get 'em in! youll beez aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!

 

[junkpile]

Hey I have been fighing with an exhaust leak, so I have not got to realign the torsion bars yet. Would you disconnect the upper control arm and sway bar to get more drop on the lower control arm for placement of the torsion bar?

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

All you should have to do is take the upper control arm bump stop out.

 

[jag_mopar]

Make sure the adjuster bolt is also backed all the way down, also make sure the the part that twists the Torsion Bar is also pushed down. Inset the TB then. You wont get full twist on the bar unless that part is down with the lower control arm.

 

[Jim Bob The Dancing Bear]

Adjuster up and down.